New Students Welcome Ceremony

When kids start school in Japan, it's a pretty big deal. The new students welcome ceremony is probably the most formal ceremony besides graduation.

So once again, the teachers bust out their black suits and mostly wear white underneath, including white ties for the men. (You'd almost think everyone was going to a funeral, except that then the ties would be black.)

About six months ago, I bought a white tie for just such occasions, but I’ve yet to wear it.

Just like at the welcome ceremony last year, I prefer to go with a more colorful look. So I’m wearing a dress shirt that has a combination of orange, pink, and white, and my tie is mostly dark blue with yellow whales on it. (It sounds wilder than it looks.) I’m not the only teacher not wearing white on white, but we are certainly in the minority.

Before the ceremony begins, the second-graders decorate the first-graders' classroom. I'm not positive that's a Japan-wide thing, but I bet it is. Unfortunately, most Japanese fail to ask me to check their English before they make big signs, so sometimes the signs have slightly ridiculous things written on them.

Take a look at one of the two chalkboards that the second-graders decorated this year. I absolutely love it, since it expresses how I feel quite often. I really got a kick out of it.

(For some more detailed info regarding today’s ceremony, read this blog I wrote about it last year.)

Faux Pas

This morning I made a little faux pas.

I owed a buddy 7000 yen (about $70), so I showed him that I had his money and put it on his desk just before he got there. (I'm not sure why I didn't just hand him the money. Maybe he had his hands full.)

As soon as I put the money on the table, it occurred to me that I was supposed to put the money in an envelope first. That's how money is handed from one person to another here.

Oops.

To make things worse, he even handed the money back to me and said, "Could you please put it in an envelope? I don't have my wallet."

Ugh.

I promptly found an envelope and gave him his money. I apologized to him and told him that the money-in-an-envelope concept is a Japanese thing. He kind of giggled a bit and also said he was sorry and that it wasn't that big of a deal, that he simply didn't have his wallet.

Live and learn.

On the Outside, Looking In

Japan is a place where being part of a group matters more than whether or not you actually contribute to the group.

That’s why I do my best to be present at all the morning meetings at school even though they start at 8:10 (I don’t have to be at school until 8:30) and I can hardly follow what’s being talked about.

And that’s why I go to most of the assemblies in the gym, even though I usually don’t understand most of what is being said at those, either.

And that’s part of the reason why I helped all those teachers move in and out.

And it’s why I sometimes go to neighborhood parties, even though it usually means sitting uncomfortably on the floor, eating food that I’m not especially fond of, and not being able to communicate with many of the other attendees.

Then again, I still try to maintain some sort of individual identity. For instance, I only wear a tie when absolutely necessary (such as at graduation), which means that I’m often the only male not wearing a tie. But plenty of other teachers here have their own personal quirks that make them stick out from the crowd, too, so being different is clearly not un-Japanese.

Today it really hit home, however, that despite my efforts I’m always going to be treated differently than everyone else.

I’m not just talking about the fact that I’m a foreigner and everything that that connotes.

And I’m not talking about the fact that I’m neither required nor asked to attend any “big” meetings, such as most of those that have been taking place lately, what with the new school year getting started. (During the rest of the school year, “big” meetings take place about once or twice a month.)

And I’m not talking about the fact that I’m neither required nor asked to attend 99% of the English department meetings.

And I’m not talking about the fact that every teacher, including me (hah!), is assigned to some sort of non-academic group (mine is the environment and health group; other groups include the research group, the dormitory study-time group, and the news and information group), but I’m the only one who wasn’t asked to do anything for his group.

No.

What I am talking about is what happened today in the gym, when all the teachers lined up in front of all the students according to what grade they would be working with in an additional homeroom-teacher role and then got introduced to the students. Except me.

And what I am talking about is what I observed after the assembly, when, out of curiosity, I went up to the fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms to watch what the homeroom teachers did.

What did I see? The homeroom teachers introduced themselves individually to the students (new and old teachers alike) once again, got greeted with applause, passed out new books and a bunch of paperwork, and then made numerous announcements.

And all the while, there I was, standing in the hallway, behind closed doors, watching the proceedings though the sliding glass windows. Wondering why I wasn’t assigned to the same duty as everyone else.

There I was, on the outside looking in.

It wasn’t a great feeling.

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On the same note, every teacher and faculty member at my school has a small, engraved nameplate that they wear on their shirt. Except me.

Well, not exactly.

I was the only exception. Until a few days ago, when my nameplate arrived!

When new teachers start working at my school, they are given a nameplate.

But not Yama. No, Yama had to order his own.

But order his own he did.

And now Yama is a bit more like everyone else.

And believe me, the kids noticed! They got quite a kick out of my new nameplate.

And I wear it with pride.

Walking to school? Of course!

For the most part, I still walk to school every day. At least two of the teachers who were transferred a couple weeks ago also occasionally walked to school, so I wondered if there would be any walkers among the newbies to replace them.

Almost right away, I found one replacement. Mr. A, the new English teacher (in the center of the picture), told me he wanted to walk to school with me. That was good news, until he told me what time he planned on leaving home: 7:15.

Remember when I started walking with Moto way back when? It was bad enough having to start out with him around 7:30 instead of 8:00. But now the new guy is telling me he wants to leave at 7:15? So we would arrive at school at 7:45? Even though the first class doesn't start until 8:40? Hmmm...

I bargained a bit and got Mr. A to change his mind. So yesterday we headed to school at 7:20. Just behind us were the elementary school kids who live at our apartment complex, accompanied by Mr. T, one of the two guys who have been living the longest at otokozaka (the name of our apartment complex) and is therefore our elder.

Mr. A was kind of in a hurry, so he (we) didn't wait for Mr. T. But Mr. T caught up with us by the time we reached the bottom of the hill leading up to school, so we all finished the walk to school together.

I asked Mr. T if he planned to walk to school every day. His answer: "Of course! ... Until tomorrow."

This morning, Mr. A called me and said that he'd like to meet me at 7:25. Yeah! That's more like it. Because 7:25 will turn into 7:30. Which is a good time to leave. And indeed, when I went downstairs to meet him, there he was, standing with Mr. T and the group of elementary school kids getting ready to head out. So we actually left at nearly 7:35. Nice, huh? And we all left together, which is nicer, of course.

At least two teachers who drove by asked us if we walk to school every day. Mr. T answered for us: "Of course!" And when the drivers had gone on ahead, he said, "Until today."

And just before we arrived at school, another new teacher, Mr. H (R's daddy!), appeared on a trail through the woods. I wasn't surprised at all to see him walking to work, since he already struck me as an outdoorsy type of guy. (Mr. H lives at hirokino, which is the other teacher's housing complex that I mentioned a long time ago. Hirokino is about a five-minute drive to school, and I just can't comprehend how anyone who lives there bothers to drive to work when it takes the same few minutes to walk here.)

So there we were, the four of us, walking together along the last 50 meters to school. Now if we can just get the rest of the teachers to walk.

On another note: I try to take a picture every morning of the same scene. For a long time, the daily picture I took was of me in front of a rice paddy. Then I switched to just taking a picture of the rice paddy. But I got tired of that same picture. So I started taking my picture in a new spot, only about 100 feet from the back entrance to school. That's what the second picture above is all about.

Oh, and that third picture? Well, I just threw that one in there to take up some space! The photo was taken in the parking lot where the local vegetable store and kajika-no-sato (a restaurant close to school that I once mentioned) are located. Like my new shades? Like my hat?

Today's Lunch

The students don't come back until tomorrow evening, but the faculty and staff all ate lunch in the dormitory cafeteria today. Lunch was basically a big welcome party for all of us. As such, the lunch was unusually good.

For one, we had rice called "tai meshi," which is rice with tiny little sea bream mixed in. I think that was the first time I had it and it was pretty tasty. And the soup had a bunch of little chunks of chicken in it and also tasted good. And we even got a creamy, freshly-made dessert with some strawberries in it, which was a real treat.

Not all of the food was all that great, however, but overall, it was one of the better meals I've ever had here.

Considering the lunch lady is new, well, there's hope for better things to come. I'll find out soon enough.

One more note: I was surprised to see the women sitting separately from the men at lunch. I thought that rule only applied to the students (except for lunch time, when boys and girls are almost always mixed), so I was disappointed. I asked a teacher about it and he said something about Japanese tradition.

I guess for the Japanese, such behavior is normal, but for me, well, it's strange indeed!

P.S. Apologies for not having a picture of the food. I stopped taking pictures of lunch a while ago, so I'm not in the habit of taking my camera to the chow hall. Mistake.

My New Four-Legged Friend

One of the new teachers, Higashiguchi-sensei, has a black lab named "R." She reminds me very much of Mila, the black lab that I share with Courtney's family. R is a couple years older and a bit smaller than Mila, but she makes some of the same semi-peculiar sounds and movements that Mila makes. "R" doesn't necessarily stand for anything in particular, so Courtney and I named her Razzle, since we sometimes call Mila "Razzlebear."

We took Razzle for a walk yesterday from her apartment to Josenji, the local temple that is just down the street from school. And on the way back, we took a detour through school and ran into the hausumasutas and their families having a BBQ (their welcome party). They were all glad to meet R, and R was lucky to score some food!

Today, when I got to school, Higashiguchi-sensei told me that R was very happy and already looking forward to her next walk. Just like Mila, Razzle is labradorable!

Welcome Parties

Welcome parties are a big part of the culture of working at Japanese schools. Everyone at school goes to at least two welcome parties: a departmental welcome party and a welcome party for all faculty and staff members. Most teachers go to at least one more party, however, since clubs also have welcome parties (I think we might be having a welcome party for the new members of the baseball team) and there's also the party to welcome the new neighbors.

All these parties, no matter how big or small, have a semi-formal feel, mostly because they always start and end at an official time and with a brief statement or two. But for the most part, they are fairly relaxed events.

The English Department held its welcome party for the three new English teachers this past Thursday at the local izakaya, Masa-chan.

One of the three teachers, Mr. A, is taking over for my supervisor, who was transferred (against his wishes?) to a junior high school in Miyazaki City. He and I are getting along great so far, and I hope our good relationship continues for a long time.

The other two new English teachers are the new junior high school Vice Principal as well as the new Principal. The outgoing Principal was not an English teacher, so our department picked up a member. That gives us a total of eight teachers and makes us the school's biggest department.

I haven't talked very much with the new Vice Principal so far, for whatever reason, but I am happy to say that I have already had a few discussions with the new Principal. He has a really laid-back manner and his English is excellent, so I have an easy time approaching him and talking to him.

Presents Galore!

In Japan, the fiscal year starts on April 1st. Since teachers are coming and going like mad at this time of year (on average, teachers here move to a different school every three to five years), the week leading up to April Fool's Day is a good time for people in the moving business.

It's also a good time to be a neighbor, since you get rewarded for helping people move. The people who are moving in or out usually provide drinks, at the very least, although most people wait until the moving trucks are either full or empty before they pass out the liquid refreshments. (Our newly ex-principal passed out energy drinks during the move!). And if you're lucky, you'll probably get some kind of snacks, too, usually in the form of yummy factory-baked goods.

But you never know what you're going to get. This year, for instance, the most unusual presents I got were a pair of chopsticks, two 1.0 kg boxes of laundry detergent, and a dozen eggs! And this year, like last year, I got several boxes of tissues, too.

What's more, the gift-giving doesn't stop until a few days after the moves are over, since it's also common for the new folks on the block to go around to their immediate neighbors and pass out presents. So during the last couple of days I've scored some more boxes of cookies, as well as a couple small hand towels, which are traditional gifts.

Even before the moving starts, however, the outgoing teachers usually pass out presents to their colleagues. Those presents tend to be more personal, such as the engraved pencil holders that the outgoing baseball coach gave to us players, or in the form of gift certificates. (This year, for example, the outgoing teachers collectively gave all of us two 500 yen coupons for the A-Coop grocery store chain, and the outgoing principal gave all of us two 500 yen coupons for the hotel/restaurant/onsen across the street from school.)

All this gift-giving associated with moving in and out is just another example of how polite and proper the Japanese people are. I hope I'm able to live up to their expectations when the time comes for me to move on.